Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 222 Knives

The young man seemed startled, his body stiffening. When he turned around and saw that it was Su Xun, he immediately looked distressed.

"Commander-in-chief, no problem."

"No problem, if there's no problem, why are you fiddling with that emergency stop button?"

"I, I just..."

"Alright, alright, don't be nervous." Su Xun smiled. "I'm not going to eat you. You guys always make such a fuss. Come on, tell me what this machine does?"

Hearing Su Xun say this, the young worker finally relaxed a bit. He moved aside a little so that Su Xun could see the machine working in front of him more clearly.

"This is a machining center, currently performing cutting operations." The young man's voice was a little hesitant, but he still conveyed the main point: "The outer armor of the power armor is prefabricated panels sent from the upstream factory, which are cut into fixed shapes here before being sent to the next process for stamping, welding, and other procedures."

"So, are there any problems in this production process right now?" Su Xun turned to look at the young man: "What are your main responsibilities?"

In his perception, the other party was actually a second-tier metal-type ability user. The craftsmanship in front of him did not seem complicated and was not worth having an ability user here. But since he had, there must be a reason.

Seeing that the young man was really nervous, Li Zhiwei stepped forward to explain for him: "Commander-in-chief, he's keeping an eye on things here, ready to press the emergency stop button at any time."

"The plates we chose for the armor are brand new materials. During production, a specific proportion of spiritual energy crystals were added, which greatly increased its strength and toughness. It also allows channels for the transmission of spiritual energy to be directly engraved on the armor shell. However, this has created a lot of problems in processing it."

"The material is too hard. Even the best alloy knives we can find are easy to break. Before the cataclysm, these knives would have just broken, but now... they are quite precious. Xiao Liu is a metal-element-affinity ability user. He can see the condition of the knife in real time and can perform limited repairs and maintenance on these knives through his ability."

Su Xun suddenly realized that he could see the blade under considerable pressure as he stood there, but he hadn't expected there to be this underlying logic.

Zhang Wei, who was standing nearby, added: "Actually, this problem is being solved. The research institute is currently studying a brand-new alloy material for industrial production, and it has already made considerable progress. In terms of time, it will not delay the subsequent production upgrade of the power armor."

Su Xun nodded. After the Great Cataclysm, many superior materials emerged, but the application of these materials was not entirely smooth. The present was an example: when the hardness of a material exceeded the norm, processing it itself became a problem.

The manufacturing methods and processing methods of new materials are actually quite important. In the world before the cataclysm, there were some excellent materials, but they were often limited by the difficulty of processing or the extremely harsh conditions for application, and ultimately could not be popularized.

At this moment, Su Xun truly understood what Li Zhiwei meant earlier. Was the problem with this knife a difficulty in the production process? Of course it was, but would solving it increase the production of power armor? That was probably a bit idealistic.

There are countless such problems, and Su Xun doesn't need to worry about them. Each one has people in different positions who are concerned about them. It's unrealistic for him to single-handedly drive the upgrading and transformation of the entire industry. Behind this production line are tens of thousands of survivors from the Taimeng Corps, as well as practitioners who are still learning.

Perhaps regaining the power of the ninth rank will not be a problem, but at that time, the ninth-rank superhumans will still be part of the new production system. This ninth-rank individual may become the leader in it, but not all of them.

The power of two people will always be greater than the power of one of them alone; this fact will not change even at the tenth rank. In reality, Su Xun's arrival here, by expressing his attitude and letting all departments of the legion understand his concern for this issue, has already been the greatest help to the production of this suit of armor. Resources will be tilted towards this; what will be tilted? Not only spiritual energy crystals or revival coins, but also manpower and human energy.

However, since he had come to this place, Su Xun could do some things on the spot. He asked the young worker for the cutting tools he usually used, many of which were broken and shattered. Under the surprised gazes of Li Zhiwei and the others, the tools slowly changed color in Su Xun's hands.

The broken part, as if it had come to life, automatically grew back the damaged blade tip!
"This is……"

"I used my special ability to make some modifications to them," Su Xun said casually. "Now these knives are much stronger than before. We can try using them for future work."

Directly influencing matter, or even generating matter with spiritual power, is quite difficult and consumes a great deal of energy for Su Xun. However, Li Zhiwei and the others present could not see any consumption of energy by him. They were only amazed by his creation-like ability.

"We should do what we can. We can't just do nothing because we can't change the situation." Su Xun looked ahead and asked, "So, are there any similar cases?"

His words seemed to carry a hint of warning, but in reality, it was just a casual remark. For Li Zhiwei or Zhang Wei, who were considered grassroots cadres to him, their thoughts and actions were not something Su Xun would take too seriously. In his eyes, as long as they worked well, they were good comrades, and he wouldn't interfere with how they worked.

Upon hearing Su Xun's words, Li Zhiwei felt somewhat ashamed. He stepped forward to lead the way for Su Xun.

“Similar situations are actually not common. This material is only slightly harder for us, and there are some difficulties in cutting it, but it is not insurmountable. Otherwise, we would not have chosen this process. For other processes, this hardness does not cause any problems.”

"There is another problem at present in the stamping process. Several workpieces still need to be manually shaped by a few superhumans. The relevant stamping dies are still in the production process... Of course, there is no need to trouble you, Commander-in-Chief, to do this. After all, the die manufacturers have already received the orders, and delivery is only a matter of time."

"It's no use asking me to come up with a solution..." Su Xun thought to himself. He could think of a solution for a few small blades, but the stamping dies that could withstand tens or hundreds of tons of weight were themselves weighed in tons. If he really wanted to change their shape, Su Xun would probably collapse from exhaustion.

"As a factory manager, you seem to have a very clear understanding of the situation on site." Seeing that Li Zhiwei could explain each process in detail, Su Xun was quite impressed. From his own understanding, many industry and unit leaders were only concerned with welcoming and seeing off guests, and very few were as familiar with the entire process as Li Zhiwei.

Seeing Li Zhiwei's expression, Su Xun knew that he might have felt some unnecessary pressure because of her words, so she simply praised him a few more times.

"That's why we entrusted this task to Zhiwei. As the factory manager, he is very responsible and reliable when it comes to production issues," Li Zhiwei explained to Su Xun from the side.

As they talked, they reached the end of the production line, where the power armor was being assembled. Upon arriving, Su Xun raised an eyebrow and, after seeing the power armors placed on the production line, noticed something that interested him even more.

"what is that?"

Following Su Xun's gaze, Li Zhiwei's expression, which had just brightened considerably, turned sour again.

(End of this chapter)